INDIANA JONES 5 Concept Art Reveals Scrapped Indy/Short Round Team-Up For A Battle With Zombies

Newly revealed concept art for an earlier version of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny confirms that Lucasfilm considered bringing back Ke Huy Quan's Short Round for a team-up with Indy. Check it out!

By JoshWilding - Dec 08, 2023 05:12 AM EST

Filed Under: Indiana Jones

When James Mangold was announced as the director of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, excitement for the long-awaited sequel increased dramatically. Unfortunately, the response ended up being more mixed than we could have anticipated, and it ended up being one of 2023's biggest box office flops with a mere $384 million worldwide.

Whether Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soured people on the idea of an older Indy or interest in the franchise has simply waned over the years is hard to say, but Harrison Ford's time as the iconic adventurer is officially over. As a result, the door is closed on Jones ever being reunited with his old sidekick, Short Round.

Unused concept art from the latest Indiana Jones movie has surfaced (via SFFGazette.com), showcasing the return of Ke Huy Quan's beloved character as he and Indy fight off a hoard of zombies. Indiana Jones 5 went through multiple iterations so it's unclear how soon this idea was scrapped.

Quan won an Oscar for his work in Everything Everywhere All At Once and has since received widespread acclaim for his work in Loki. Having him appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would have been a great way to increase fan interest in the fifth instalment, but Indy instead found a sidekick in his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (who was once rumoured to take over the franchise).

The actor has never closed the door on potentially reprising his Temple of Doom role so he'd have been open to this, we're sure. Earlier this year, Quan said, "I'm there, man! I love that character so much, and it would just be incredible to revisit so many years later."

Are you disappointed this team-up was never shot? Let us know in the comments section below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Saby Menyhei (@sabydraws)

Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist for this highly anticipated final installment of the iconic franchise - a big, globe-trotting, rip-roaring cinematic adventure. Starring along with Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish), John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Shaunette Renée Wilson (Black Panther), Thomas Kretschmann (Das Boot), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Olivier Richters (Black Widow), Mads Mikkelsen (Doctor Strange) and newcomer Ethann Isidore.

Directed by James Mangold (Logan, Walk the Line) and written by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp and James Mangold, based on characters created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, has once again composed the score.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is now available to buy and stream wherever you get movies.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Resulted In A Huge Financial Loss For Disney

Recommended For You:

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Xbox FPS Unveils Action-Packed Gameplay Trailer

DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

22 Comments

Reginator - 12/8/2023, 6:08 AM

I might have went to see it if short round was in it.

TheVandalore - 12/8/2023, 6:30 AM

The only way an Indiana Jones property will get a cent from me at this point is if Short Round is at the very least co-lead.

bkmeijer1 - 12/8/2023, 6:39 AM

@TheVandalore - same here. If they're doing a spin-off, it should be with Short Round. Best side character and actor imo this franchise has

Truoptimusprime - 12/8/2023, 6:32 AM

Disney is really stupid for not using short round. He was excellent in Loki, he would have made Indiana Jones 10x better.

FinnishDude - 12/8/2023, 6:33 AM

The primary target demographic for the big budget blockbusters (people old enough to have disposable income, but still young enough to not have dozens of responsibilities keeping them too busy for regularly going to movies) do not have nostalgia for the original Indiana Jones movies and giving the movie such a huge budget that it basically had to make a billion to be profitable killed any chance Dial of Destiny had from the outset.

Force Awakens was a success, because they were smart enough to throw a large enough net to make the marketing tickle the nostalgia, but also seem like good enough place to jump into the franchise as a newcomer. No Way Home was a success, because the previous two Spider-Man film franchises are still recent enough that people who remember them haven't aged out of the blockbuster movies yet. Creed was a success, because it was a mid-budget drama, which looked like standalone boxing drama to those who have no idea who Rocky is.

MosquitoFarmer - 12/8/2023, 9:07 AM

@FinnishDude - Force Awakens also featured a young new core cast, which would instantly draw in the younger crowd.

TheVisionary25 - 12/8/2023, 6:42 AM

Seeing Indy & Short Round together again would have been nice but I still personally liked the movie we got (though I can get why some did not).

It’s themes of aging and ultimately living in the present connected with me ultimately and the cast was great.

It was missing that Spielberg energy , especially in the action scenes for the most part but I thought Mangold’s direction worked in this more subdued and sober story imo.

I personally also liked Helena and the contrast she brought to Indy ( she very clearly to me was meant to parallel how Indy used to be , especially in Temple of Doom and was essentially a mirror to him as a younger version of himself)

LilJimmy - 12/8/2023, 7:03 AM

"I think the audience would love to see Short Round back together with Indiana Jones in the next movie"

KK: "F*** Short Round! Put a chick in it AND MAKE HER LAME AND GAY!"

Order66 - 12/8/2023, 8:11 AM

Short round was too busy saving the multiverse.

MosquitoFarmer - 12/8/2023, 9:09 AM

Didn't need Short Round to be there, but I really disliked Helena.

LilJimmy - 12/8/2023, 9:50 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - Why didnt you like her? Is it because the woman showed the man a thing or two? SEXIST!.....

MosquitoFarmer - 12/8/2023, 10:04 AM

@LilJimmy - She was obnoxious and frequently lacking in heart. Performance was fine, character wasn't. I had no complaints if and when Marion would upstage Indy because she was far more likable.

Vigor - 12/8/2023, 9:42 AM

Vigor - 12/8/2023, 9:43 AM

@Vigor - getting these vibes from that concept image

SummersEssex - 12/8/2023, 10:08 AM

Aw man. That would have been great. Too bad.

IronMan616 - 12/8/2023, 10:27 AM

They should've put Short Round in it instead of Fleabag. I saw the movie last weekend, what a mess. There was something off about the ending, like it got changed or something. I don't know, it was just so anticlimactic. When they were talking about time travel, I was expecting a bunch of time jumping, not the mess they gave us.

Indy deserved better.

DocSpock - 12/8/2023, 10:37 AM

These last 2 Indy movies were sooooo bad.

I rewatch everything like most of you, but I will never watch these last 2 franchise legacy destroying turds again.

Imprtracr1 - 12/8/2023, 1:12 PM

Such a missed opportunity in the sense that Short Round should have been the natural choice to carry the mantle and franchise forward.

Also, this film was trash.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

INDIANA JONES 5 Concept Art Reveals Scrapped Indy/Short Round Team-Up For A Battle With Zombies

Newly revealed concept art for an earlier version of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny confirms that Lucasfilm considered bringing back Ke Huy Quan's Short Round for a team-up with Indy. Check it out!

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Resulted In A Huge Financial Loss For Disney

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Xbox FPS Unveils Action-Packed Gameplay Trailer

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Resulted In A Huge Financial Loss For Disney

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Xbox FPS Unveils Action-Packed Gameplay Trailer